Innovation: Why Apple Releases So Many Models

01 Sep Innovation: Why Apple Releases So Many Models

With Apple’s next big event and iPhone reveal just around the corner, we thought we’d take a look at how and why they use early models to test out various features. Sure, it can be annoying when your iPhone screen locks up and you didn’t tell it to. And, it might be frustrating when your iPad dies in the middle of the most dramatic scene of the latest blockbuster hit. However, if you think about the innovation you’re holding in your hands or that you have strapped to your wrist, it all becomes a little less frustrating.

Rather than talk about all the rumors and gossip flying around about the next version of the iPhone, we want to talk about why Apple releases so many versions of the products and why they are continuously updating features .

Seeing A Need For Innovation

Remember when you had to carry around a portable compact disc player and whole bunch of CDs? It was this poor user experience that led apple to create one of their earlier products: the iPod, which allows users to carry virtually all of their music in their pocket.

Even if you had a had a great carrying case that you could store your headphones, player, and 20 discs in, you still had this big thing to carry, keep track of, and store. With an iPod, you could and still can keep all of your music at your fingertips and in your pocket.

But, the quality of music wasn’t great. Not to mention, many of the early generations of the iPod had screens that were hard to read. These issues didn’t stop people from buying up iPods and Apple kept producing new and better versions based on feedback. Overtime, iPods got smaller, had more storage, sound quality improved, and now you can store files, download apps, and a whole lot else on a device that fits in your pocket.

But without earlier models, the iPod wouldn’t have changed or evolved into what it is today.

Following A Demand

Apple’s updated features don’t always follow their own ideas of innovation. On occasion, the features, updates, and product developments follow patterns and trends of demand.

Take the Apple Watch, for example. Apple wasn’t the first company to develop a smartwatch. In fact, companies like Nike, Sony, and Samsung developed smartwatches years before Apple released their first one.

By waiting, Apple did two things: 1) they allowed demand for the smartwatch to build and 2) they gave themselves time (no pun intended) to see what consumers wanted in a smartwatch.

The Apple Watch is now a staple for many. It’s more important than phones to some people. As Apple says on their site, “…isn’t just something you wear. It’s an essential part of who you are.

So, even though the development of the Apple Watch was Apple’s version of “following demand,” they were and are still able to put their own spin on it and create need for a lifestyle product not just a fitness band.

Learning from Apple’s Adaptable Approach

If you’re in the business of selling and developing products or services, you can learn a lot from Apple’s approach. You can’t just create products and services you think the world or your target market needs. Rather, you have to start with what the consumer is looking for.

From that point, you can start developing features and updates that solve issues consumers don’t even know they are having or going through. When you understand your market, you can start develop strategies and messages that appeal to them. In the case of Apple, they understand what their consumers want and need. How’s your innovation going? Are you reaching your target market the way you want to be? How can you better build products and services that your market is looking for?

The team at Iconic Digital would love to connect with you to discuss how we can help develop the marketing strategy you need to grow your business.

Scott Blanton

Content Writer at Iconic Digital Marketing

As Iconic Digital's content writer, Scott works with clients to develop brand stories and key messaging. When he isn't typing away at his computer, you'll find him exploring new coffee shops, spending time with this family, or working on a new home improvement project.